Brake-beam fulcrum



WEB. BEBE.

BRAKE BEAM FULCRUM. APPLICATiO N FILED gen 17, 1919.

Patented Feb. 15,1921.

Va/enfine BRice INVENTOR.

WITNESS.-

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VALENTINE B. RICE, OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.

BRAKE-BEAM rULonUM.

Application filed October 17, 1919.

To (tZZ whom it 'iiutj/ concern.

Be it known that L VALENTINE B. Rice, a citizen of the United States, residing at llethlehem, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Brake-Beam Fulcrums, of which the following is a speci fication.

The invention relates to railways and rolling); stock therefor and more particularly to the brake beams thereof and has for an objcct to provide a brake beam fulcrum which can be cheaply manufactured, involves few and simple parts and which is reversible in its nature and can be accommodated to right or left hand brake beams as desired.

- Among other features the invention comprehends a brake beam fulcrum in which the novel construction and arrangement of parts provides a structure of greatstrength and which will effectually resist the wear and tear to which posts or fulcrums for rolling stock are subjected and in which the post is swiveled in the body and is of a unitary construction, having only one cross slot and is limited in its swiveled movement in the body so that it can be readily accommodated to the car equipment to accomplish the desired purpose.

In the further disclosure of the invention, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings constitutinga part of this speci fication in which similar characters of reference denote correspondingparts in all the views, and in which,-

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device showing the same applied to the compression and tension members used on the underside of a railway car.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4- is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 14 in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the post removed from the body.

Referring more particularly to the views the numeral indicates acompression cross member and 11, a tension rod, the former carrying the usual brake heads 12. Mounted between the compression member and tension rod, and carried thereby is a skeleton frame or body 13 having one end formed with an integral flange 1% fitting over the member 10 and the other end formed with a head 15 having a cross slot 16 for the acconr Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

Serial No. 331,394.

modation of the tension rod 11, the-head 15 being also formed with. a plurality of spaced apertured ears .17 receiving a cross pin 18 with a link 19 of any suitable form of supporting hanger 20, held in place by the cross pin 18, the head 15 being furthermore provided with an apertured projecting flangeQl to which the lower end of a carrying chain 22 may be connected, it being understood that the use of the hanger 20 or chain 22 is optional and that one or the other may be employed. A plate 23 formed with a flange 24 is adapted. to be fitted against the underside of the compression member 10, the plate fitting against the underside of the frame 13 in a cut out portion 25 thereof and bolted to the frame by means of suitable bolts 26 thereby rigidly securing the frame at one end to the compression member 10 and holding the other end of the frame in connection with the tenslon rod 11.

. The frame 13 is formed with a plurality of opposed recessed bearing heads 27, 28, with a. portion of the bearing head 27 formed by the plate 23 which has a portion 29 thereof formed to conform to the configuration of the bearing head when the plate is in position. Loosel arranged to rotate in the bearing heads 2:, 28 are the opposed rounded ends of a post 30 having a central longitudinal cross slot 31 therein. with the sides 32 forming the cross slot 31, provided with openings 33 for the passage of a transverse pin 34, the latter serving to pivotally mount a brake lever 35 in the slot 31 of the post 30 as shown. The sides 36 of the frame 13 are preferably provided with cut out portions 87 for the purpose of facilitating the arrangement of the pin 84: in position to secure-the brake lever in the post.

It will be apparent that in assembling the device described the single casting or piece forming the frame 13 is first adapted to re ceive the post, having its headed or rounded ends fitting into the bearing heads 27, 2S, and the plate 23 is then arranged in position to form the remainder of the one hearing head 27, the plate being then bolted rigidly in place, as mentioned heretofore.

It will be noted by reference to the views that each bearing head 27, 28, has opposed cut out portions 38 forming segmental flange portions 39, the ends of which, act as stop members when'engaged by diametrically opposed lugs 4L0 projecting from the rounded heads of the post 30, thus limiting the rotatable or turning movement of the post relative to the frame.

It will be seen that with this construction 'suflicient freedom of the post in the frame is permitted to enable the post to be swung so that the brake lever can be accommodated to right or left hand use in connection with the brake beam equipment of the car. I

It will be apparent that by having the frame or body 13 formed in a single unit right or left hand brake eguipm'ent, permit-s of the easy application 0 the structure to either'right or left hand brake beam appliances. 7

It will be understood that although I have shown a particular form of construction in the drawings and described a particular form of device in the specification that various slight changes may be made, particularly in the adaptation of the device to different forms of tension or co1npression structures, without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims. 7

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. A brake beam fulcrum for a brake lever and supporting structure comprising a frame having its ends constructed for conbrake lever in the slot of the post and lugs projecting from the ends of the post and operating in the cut out portions of the bearing heads, the engagement of said lugs with said stop members limiting the turning action of said post.

2. A brake beam fulcrum for a brake lever and supporting structure comprising a frame for connection with the structure to be carried thereby, bearing heads formed in said frame, stop members formed by cut out portions in said bearing heads, a brake lever supporting post having the ends there of rotatably mounted in the bearing heads of the frame and means on the post, operating in the cut out portions of the bearing heads and adapted toengage with the stop members therein for, limiting the turning movement of the post in said frame.

3. A brake beam fulcrum for a brake le verand supporting structure comprising a frame for connection with the structure to be carried thereby, bearing heads formed in said frame, stop members formed by cut out portions in said bearing heads, a brake lever supporting post having the'ends there of rotatably mounted in the bearing heads of the frame and lugs on the post, operatingin the cut out portions of the bearing heads and adapted to engage with the stop members therein for limiting the turning movement of the post in said frame.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

VALENTINE B. ICE. 

